


Broken Together

by cultivateourgarden



Category: Bleach
Genre: Angst, F/M, M/M, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-14
Updated: 2013-06-14
Packaged: 2017-12-14 22:53:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/842293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cultivateourgarden/pseuds/cultivateourgarden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They made a promise long ago, and now it's time to keep it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was Shunsui who said it, of course, the first time. Lighthearted on the surface, and never apt to let others in too deeply, but he saw through things, and through people. Including himself. And it was after that first bout, after Ukitake had admitted to his illness, and was half-dazed from the medication he'd been given. Shunsui had changed out the cloths cooling his burning forehead and murmured softly, "Don't go without me, all right, Ukitake?"

It wasn't the sort of thing they said aloud most of the time. More murmured, in moments of fear. The many times Ukitake had hovered between life and death, with ashy pale skin and bloodied lips. The time Kyouraku misjudged a hollow's speed and ended up with a dozen poison darts in his chest. The time they both nearly died of hypothermia on a mission that went wrong, leaving them stranded on a mountaintop in a deadly blizzard. In calmer moments, they never said it--but they never had to either.

* * * * *

The battle raged under the unforgiving sun, sand and blood mixing with shouts and cries of pain and battle cries. Too large to truly know much of the larger picture without becoming dangerously distracted. They fought, as ever, back to back, trusting each other without speaking, without thinking about it. And with two millennia of experience Shunsui felt, rather than saw, a shift in the energy, saw a sword blow Ukitake wouldn't have time to block or dodge, and desperately jumped to push him down, out of the way, knowing that there would never be enough time, as white-hot pain seared through him twice over, pressing his body against Ukitake's like a lover's embrace.

They both fired a blast of kido in return, and the scream was abruptly cut off as the two men fell to the ground, sword still through Shunsui's chest and into Ukitake's. He coughed, a few tears from the pain in his chest; Shunsui only felt numb. He forced a smile. "Hey...don't go...without me, eh, Ukitake?" His own voice sounded raspy in his ears, and strained. Not long.

Ukitake shifted as much as he could, wrapping long arms around Shunsui’s broader shoulders, as Shunsui did his best to return the gesture (though his body seemed not to want to cooperate). "I wasn't...planning on it," he murmured, throat raspy and voice hoarse.

Later, when the battlefield was quiet, red sand fading to inky blank, Nanao found the two, bodies curled against each other, a small, sad smile on both faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by [this image](http://oriental-lady.deviantart.com/#/art/8-13-372222344?hf=1).


	2. Chapter 2

There had been little time for rest, let alone for thought, these last few weeks, and it was a mercy, Nanao thought. Even with the war over and won, with the devastation of Soul Society and the number of the fallen, there was far more work to be done than had any hope of being completed. And that was Nanao's great strength, wasn't it? Being able to keep up with the impossible.

She wondered if there was any point in any of it now.

Unohana-soutaichou had politely but firmly insisted that Nanao take a break and get some rest, as she hadn't really stopped moving since...that day. And yet sleep proved impossible too, as Nanao had known it would. So, she walked in the gardens of Fourth, feeling like a restless spirit haunting the human world, too distracted to pay attention to the plum blossoms attempting to bloom, despite the scorch marks where blasts had hit the gardens, killing many of the trees that had stood for centuries. She started when she nearly walked into Kuchiki-taichou, standing motionless under one of them in the darkness, without his haori or kenseikan, his reiatsu pulled in close. Bowing, she murmured, "I am sorry, Kuchiki-taichou; I did not realize anyone else was--"

"Stay." The word was soft, quite unlike him, and though the word was a command, there was a questioning note in his tone. Without question, Nanao closed her mouth and stood, glancing up at the captain. He had been badly injured in the fight, but was up and walking despite the loss of his eye and rather painful-looking burns on his face and one side. The silence stretched between them for a long time. Not...uncomfortable exactly, but heavy with the weight of the things neither was ready to say.

"My wife loved these blooms," he said finally. "She admired them much more than sakura. She said sakura are beautiful, but plum blossoms represent...hope. They show that spring is coming." His voice was heavy with regret and pain, even now.

Nanao closed her eyes, feeling them burn, and for several minutes, she didn't trust herself to speak. "How...does one go on, Kuchiki-taichou? When spring cannot come."

He bowed his head, and the silence stretched again before he continued. "Duty, Ise-fukutaichou. When all else is lost, we still have our duty."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear what you think!


End file.
